Hi to everyone,

In today's world we are constantly bombarded by the internet and the amazing amount of information we can find including websites amongst these are Mr Black Publications run by a PF Member , of course its Stelios , you can find his website at www.mrblackpublications.com

For me though as much as I use the IT I personally like nothing better than to have a book in my hand and the one there at the moment is the very latest from Stelios and the team:

SCALE MODEL HANDBOOK - DIORAMA MODELLING 2

I had the pleasure to share my thoughts on Volume 1 with you all here;

http://www.planetfigure.com/threads...rom-mr-black-publications.62938/watch-confirm

Lets look at volume number 2 in this thread

As with all in both this and the figure modelling series the format is A4 with Matt laminated card covers , we find a total of 100 yes I said 100 pages all offering , various methods and techniques by top class modellers., the book is absolutely packed with photos .....over 400 of them

This is as with all releases from Mr Black this is a labour of love and dedication and this volume has been more than 2 years in the planing .

The planning certainly radiates from the pages from the text in an easy to read font to the immaculate colour rendition of the photos to the sheer delight of holding the book .

Christos Katselos, Grigoris Marmatakis, Igor Kordyukov, Dan Capuano, Noel Petroni, Sergey Popovichenko, Christos Panagiotopoulos and Tolis Moustakas

Contributors listed above are all top in their particular modelling field and techniques , thanks from me for them taking the time to share everything.

Lets begin with the covers , as you can see the front depicts the Andrea Elephant diorama , with the back having smaller pictures of the other subjects ...a tantalising treat is in store for the reader!!!

We have a total of 7 articles in the book , lets look at each one in turn beginning of course with

Article 1

Written by Christos Katselos covering a total of 20 action packed pages , scale is 54mm , what immediately stands out is the sheer work involved in the elephant as Christos says "this is not an ordinary model kit" and this is certainly not an ordinary article !!!

Christos shares everything from the making of the groundwork , ensuring the positioning is correct , the interaction between everything .

Straight into my notebook went the mixes for the animal ( well you never know when!!)

As we progress through the article the scene comes to life from the agony of the wounded animal to the action of the figures.

All mixes are included , again the notebook was in use for the flesh ones particularly the Numidian one ( plan to use that for a recent gladiator bust!!)

Colour pictures are in all pages adding visual interest alongside the very readable text .

A great start to the book covering lot of pages well presented and an interesting subject as well as being a great bit of modelling.

Article 2

Written by Grigoris Marmatakis who has chosen a horrific battle in the german forests , a battle that literally stopped Rome ....the battle of Teutoburg Forest .Stelios has worked with the author on the historical research .

We have a historical intro as well as very interesting reading on both armies , their methods and equipment , the leaders , all the text is interspersed with pictures of the completed diorama .

The article covers 16 pages , the historical data using a total of 11 the remaining shows us the way the scene was worked , again with full details of the mixes to put into my little ( now quickly

expanding) book....

The completed scene is a mass of terror , individual set pieces are featured all going towards to create the final effect.

Lets look at Article 3 now

This is written by Igor Kordyukov , and shows us how an model or rather several in this case ( scale for this is 75mm) gets into production from the mixing of the sculpting putty to the numerous reworking of the pieces involved, the way he formed the figures over a wire armature , reference pictures , masses of pictures are all within the article , poses are all different and I am honestly amazed at what does go into the releases , needless to say sculpting is great , excellent interaction between the figures. Covering a total of 18 pages , not so much colour as most of them show putty!!! For me as a bust modeller this was so good to see another side of the hobby I certainly know someone on PF that likes the Cossacks ( eh Martin who has just completed the dancing duo) . The end result for Igor was to see it released by Irbis Miniatures ( reference IM75-17 ) .

Article 4

This piece again depicts a group of soldiers all playing cards , the figures are commercial from Tin Berlin in 54mm. Written by Sergey Popovichenko ( reckon we might have heard of him here!!!)style is easy to read again good historical background of these colourful and feared soldiers. Sergey uses commercial figure and the article just shows them primed , covering a total of 8 pages he concentrates on scratchbuilding the setting , a broken wall with an arch , again interesting to read about , just didn't realise just how much you guys do to a piece . Painting is mentioned but to be honest this article is all about admiring the completed setting a great bit of work and with the painted figures a rally effective scene.

Article 5

This article brings us into the 20th century written by Dan Capuano this is a Super Diorama as Dan says , its is a wonderful piece of work and everywhere you look there is something to be amazed at . Dan Scratchbuilt a Stalingrad scene , the tenacity and horror are al these of the 6th Army fighting over every last brick , the Russians closing in with every minte , you can almost taste the cordite in the air .

Covering a total of 12 action packed pages , Dan models for the enjoyment of the viewer well let me say this I am enjoying every mm of it Dan .

Colour abounds , together with mixes , everything you see is wonderfully weathered all techniques are shared , for me this is a jaw dropping article and I can only wonder at the amount of work that has gone into both the article and the model.

Article 6

This time we have an armored vehicle a Panther Ausf D written by 2 authors Christos Panagiotopoulos Tolis Moustakas , Christos did the figures with Tolis dealing with the Tank and scenery. Now I am and never will be an armour modeller but this looks great too good as I expect it to come off the page !!! The scene is one I am sure often seen with soldiers playing with pets this time a dog to try and get some relief from the horrors around them. The article covers 8 pages , great weathering on the tank and needless to say the figures compliment the scene and are beautifully painted .This article consist mainly of full colour pictures showing all angles of the diorama, quite inspirational in ideas . As with all articles are included in the text , plus much useful info on the base work. Easy to read with pictures to enjoy an good inclusion to the book.

Article 7

This is my favourite scene in the book , its hard hitting and written by Noel Petroni , depicting the aftermath of battle a crewmember lies dead hanging out the turret of his PzKpfw 1 Ausf A with a female civilian walking past looking at the scene being played out in front of her eyes ..perhaps she has a son the same age ...is he alive she has no idea at all .......she feels for the mother who will be mourning her loss. Noel shows us how he has produced the turret figure a great bit of modelling there , but it does not stop there he also scratchbuilt the other figure. Also included is the use of PE parts on the tank , this is something that I am always amazed at having watched others work with it ...a definate skill is required . The article covers 11 pages again with colour and details off the diorama including how to get the washes and effects on the tank ..beautifully done . The article title is "Grim Reality" with Noel wanting to arouse Strong emotions well my friend you succeeded .this is s great end to the book.

Final thoughts :

So much has gone into producing this and the others from Mr Black Publications , this is an enjoyable book to read , beautifully done colour reproduction well written with all authors obviously knowing their subject .....THANK YOU

I would like to thank Stelios and the team for all the effort (and no doubt blood and sweat!!) that has gone into this ...its been worth it guys.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I look forward to the next publication fromStelios and the team

Historex and El Greco , Tommys War are some of the distributors in the UK

For more informatio and distributors go to the website

www.mrblackpublications.com

or to the facebook page at

www.facebook.com/MrBlackPublications

Thanks for looking in

Nap

Hi Guys ,

STOP PRESS News ...Stelios will be releasing the next Scale Model Handbook No 15 available in September and of course at Euro

Sneaky preview of the cover ......its a bust on it ..Ye Hah!!! painted by Man Jin Kim of course from MJ Miniatures ...just a taster but looking forward to tasting more!! ...

Look at those names alongside MJ ...yum yum!!

Nap